Noah crawled carefully through the blood, returning to sit up. He was afraid to drink any of the liquid and end up being poisoned. Unable to walk, how could he possibly take care of anything? But, was there any way for his limbs to be healed? Not that he knew of.

  [Why don't you cultivate?]

  [If your body undergoes body refinement, these wounds will cease to exist.]

  Of course, a world of cultivation... that's why those creatures were so terrifying. He had read many stories about this before, so in a way it was exciting, despite his current circumstances. But how do I do that? Should I just close my eyes and focus?

  [...Didn't I explain?]

  No.

  [Ok, my mistake. I should have explained that before. To make up for it, I'll tell you one of my duties.]

  Duties? So assisting me in seeking power wasn't the only one?

  [Well, technically, they're all related to that...]

  [So now, I'll give you the technique that will help you start your training, as well as some information about cultivation, which I should have given you when you arrived in this world.]

  Noah's silence made the system stop. It seemed possible to feel the discomfort in the air.

  [Anyway, the situation didn't allow for it to be done then, so it wasn't my fault!]

  That would have been resolved, if you'd sent me to a safe place.

  [...]

  [This will hurt a bit.]

  What? Wait-!

  [Warning!]

  [Information transfer has started.]

  [Basic knowledge of the cultivation system will be transferred, as well as the basic cultivation technique.]

  [11%]

  Initially, information about the early stages of cultivation flooded Noah's mind, like the currents of a river. Intense, yes, but controlled and understandable.

  [29%]

  He watched the words fly in all directions, forming sentences and flooding him with knowledge about this new world in which he found himself.

  [56%]

  From Body Refinement, where the early steps are taken to lay the foundation for the steps ahead, to the Nascent Soul, the beginning of it all where a pure being is created through one's own essence.

  [65% 74% 92%]

  Even stranger words appeared. Confusing, yes, but still so familiar. Noah understood them immediately and understood their chants and what they did.

  [100%]

  [The information transfer has been successfully completed.]

  Damn...!

  Cough! Cough!

  At least let me prepare myself next time.

  When the pain subsided and the buzzing in his head quieted down, he closed his eyes. Unable to cross his legs or move his arms, Noah was unable to assume the ideal position to perform the technique. However, even so, it didn't seem to take long for the tiny shining dots to be noticed around him, like stars. There were so many it was impossible to ignore them.

  Interesting... But should this really be happening so quickly? Or am I doing something wrong?

  [Actually, more than 5 hours have passed since you started meditating... And considering the Qi concentration in a half-dragon's blood and in this cave, you took longer than normal.]

  ...From what I understand, I should concentrate the Qi for body fortification first, in a constant process of destruction and reconstruction... I hope this doesn't leave scars.

  [...I don't think that's something you should worry about right now, but no, it won't. Plus, the wounds on your arms should disappear completely if the refinement is done right.]

  I see.

  [Should I activate Qi absorption assistance?]

  Assistance...? Yes, activate it.

  Taking a deep breath, he held it in. He exhaled, only to breathe in again slowly. No hurry, control had to be precise, as much as possible, like a surgeon’s hands holding a scalpel. Even his heartbeat needed to follow the synergy. Incandescent, the glow moved around him. The heat he felt from being surrounded by them was comforting, but the pressure made him suffocate, as if each of those little stars was pressing his body down, trampling him.

  In his mind, the first mantra echoed, calming him. However, only the second needed to be spoken at the moment. As his lips parted, the first word pronounced with his unfamiliar voice reached him. It was calm and cold, but beautiful.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  — Like a river merging with the sea,

  I open myself to the energy that stretches through the vast pathways of the universe.

  Each breath draws in the pulsation of creation,

  Where gentle yin intertwines with the vigor of yang,

  Transforming lightness into dynamic and precise momentum.

  In the embrace of movement, I receive the cosmic current,

  Which speeds my spirit with the quickness of the wind

  And skillfully transforms it into serene and controlled power.

  Thus, I feel the harmony of opposites,

  Where darkness enhances light, and light, with its speed, guides the way.

  With each heartbeat, the universe reveals itself,

  And I become the channel through which the ancient energy flows masterfully.

  All in one and all in one,

  With the universal energy within me, I attune myself

  I allow myself to experience life

  And become the place where it dwells in vast and beautiful immensity.

  The dots of light, once scattered, gathered around Noah as the chant was repeated with precision. The pain was indescribable, with his bones twisting, breaking, and healing while his muscles and organs were injured and strengthened by the sheer Qi that seemed to border on an infinite flow.

  He could no longer keep track of how much time had passed, and he knew it didn’t matter. Clinging to such a thing was just something he did to keep from losing himself in the pain. There was no going back. If he tried to give up, his death would be immediate. His muscles would be torn, his organs would fail, and the bones all over his body would collapse, possibly piercing his heart.

  After a series of cracks he couldn’t even hear, and pain was all he could perceive, Noah noticed he had regained control of the movements of his legs. He crossed them, keeping the chant untouched.

  Then, at some point, his arms stretched out, his bones in the midst of reconstruction. The pain spread throughout his body, so intense, coming and going like electric currents, that his mind seemed to go blank for a moment. But everything cleared and the first mantra resounded in his mind: Balance, he could hear, returning to him calm, attention, and control.

  Touching his fingers, a circle formed in front of his belly. Just one more verse, and it would all be over.

  — And become the place where it dwells in vast and beautiful immensity.

  Vital Flow.

  When he opened his eyes, Noah couldn't have been more ecstatic. The pain had vanished and the darkness was nowhere to be found. He could see everything. The bones scattered around and, most importantly, the horrifying creature hanging upside down in the hole he had entered through, the half-dragon.

  — Is the improvement in vision also something brought about by body refinement, or is it related to the fact that I did it using dragon blood? — he murmured to himself, testing the motor coordination of his hands, clenching them over and over — Hmm, it's incredible, whatever the reason might be.

  The smell now seemed even more unpleasant. It wasn’t the blood that was causing it, but the sticky substance covering him, making his stomach turn.

  Impurities... the sensation is worse than I imagined... Disgusting.

  Turning to the creature, he circled it, looking for the spot where its blood had been leaking from the very beginning. Even dead, its presence made him tremble, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

  [...What are you doing?]

  — Isn't it obvious? — he stopped when he found the place he was looking for, hesitant because of the unease in the system's words — Or shouldn’t I be doing this now...? Would it be harmful?

  There was a delay in the response, which seemed to carry some hesitation in itself.

  [No, do as you see fit...]

  Noah felt a bit uncomfortable, but the knowledge transferred to him mentioned nothing about possible issues that might arise in this situation, of course, except for being careless while absorbing energy, so he chose to go ahead. Now that he was here, he did not want to waste the opportunity.

  He sat beneath the spot where the blood gushed out like a waterfall and resumed meditating. His questions about how much time had passed and other matters could wait; focusing on just one thing was the best choice.

  Wave after wave, like a series of tsunamis crashing down on his head, purer and more intense Qi streamed into him tirelessly. It accumulated and condensed while the body refinement process continued, albeit less intensely. Focusing on this, the stairs and gates were ignored as he passed them by. But was that even possible? Nobody had ever tried.

  Something seemed to fall on his back and face; it was smooth and long, wet, but that could be explained by the blood.

  The blood stopped, and with it the energy flow decreased considerably. Then, after wiping his eyes, dragging the sticky strands off his face, Noah stood up.

  He examined himself.

  Nothing changed... Huh? He noticed his long hair stuck to his back. How much time had passed for something like that to happen?

  [About 230 days have passed since you began cultivating.]

  — ...That's scary... and amazing too, since I didn't even notice.

  [As for the change you were looking for, initially, the changes caused by cultivation are internal.]

  — Initially...?

  [Yes. There may be small changes when reaching higher cultivation levels, such as height, hair or skin color and, in some cases, even extra limbs.]

  Extra limbs... Noah shivered, but that soon went away when the possibility that these "limbs" could be wings came into his mind.

  — Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. — he murmured with a smile.

  He turned to the half-dragon's body, thoughtful.

  — Normally, things like this are useful for cultivators, right?

  [Yes, whether to make pills with the blood or artifacts with the body.]

  — But something this big... You don't have something like an inventory, do you?

  [Certainly.]

  The response put him at ease.

  [Should I store the half-dragon's body in the inventory?]

  — And the blood, too. Oh, and the bones scattered around here. Those are from the forest creatures, right?

  [Yes.]

  — Then store those that belong to the stronger beasts. They could end up being useful at some point.

  In the blink of an eye, everything around vanished, the half-dragon's body, the bones, and the blood spread across the floor. The path to the exit was open again, though he didn't know how he would climb back up that place if he needed to.

  Following the system's instructions, he walked through the tunnel's many forks to where the dragon's egg was... or at least that's what he hoped. He didn't want any more surprises and was somewhat suspicious of the system's intentions, since sometimes its voice seemed hesitant and conflicted.

  — How big is this place? It's like a labyrinth, from what I've seen so far.

  [Yes, and it stretches for about 50 thousand kilometers.]

  50 thousand...?! He sighed. This is going to take a while...

  If there was something Noah was grateful for, it was the fact that, even after more than two hundred days, he still wasn't hungry. He hoped that would last for a while, as he had no idea what he would eat in that sea of earth and stone.

  Maybe a piece of the half-dragon...? He considered, but shook his head. Only as a last resort, and he hoped that never happened.